Reviews
50 Queers Who Changed the World: A Celebration of LGBTQ+ Icons by Dan Jones, Michele Rosenthal
misscalije's review against another edition
4.0
I was entertained. I learned about the lives of queer people that were new to me and I learned about the queerness of historical figures of which I was already aware.
I do think it is possible to write short biographies of trans people without deadnaming them, however. Even if they are deceased.
Beautiful illustrations.
Thanks.
I do think it is possible to write short biographies of trans people without deadnaming them, however. Even if they are deceased.
Beautiful illustrations.
Thanks.
chloemills's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars to my first book of the year! A wonderful collection detailing the impact that the Queer community has had on the world. Beautiful illustrations and has made me want to go and research more of the wonderful people featured in this book.
mattbuechner's review against another edition
3.0
Easily digestible, page-long biographies make this book a great jumping-off point to learn about some of the key figures in LGBTQ history. The illustrations are great, if not always the most accurate. But this book will find a home on my coffee table, at the very least.
zellapaige's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
4.0
I think this is probably a very good introduction to queer history and queer icons. It is definitely introductory, with just a few paragraphs about each of the featured icons. I did learn new information about queer icons I was already familiar with, learned about others I had never previously heard of, and in one notable case (looking at you Sally Ride!) learned that a long respected icon was also queer.
Parts of the book though just felt off in ways I can’t tangibly explain. The vibes just feel a bit off. Some of the book’s language feels a bit dated, but not enough to account for all of the off feelings. The only thing I can clearly point to as wrong is the author claiming Martina Navratilova as “the greatest female tennis player ever” (110), which even for the 2017 publication date is a bit bold given the existence of Serena Williams.
I would like to revisit this book after reading more general queer history and about some of these icons specifically.
Parts of the book though just felt off in ways I can’t tangibly explain. The vibes just feel a bit off. Some of the book’s language feels a bit dated, but not enough to account for all of the off feelings. The only thing I can clearly point to as wrong is the author claiming Martina Navratilova as “the greatest female tennis player ever” (110), which even for the 2017 publication date is a bit bold given the existence of Serena Williams.
I would like to revisit this book after reading more general queer history and about some of these icons specifically.
mjtal's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
1.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming
12dejamoo's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.0
A good introduction but you definitely are left wanting more about lots of these people. I'd almost use this as a jumping off point and then go look into the stories of some of the people. I mean, the book fulfills its purpose. It'd be a great coffee-table type book you could dip into on and off. It's very nicely laid out/illustrated/coloured.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
Minor: Violence
nerdypotsie's review against another edition
2.0
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community who is considering majoring in LGBTQ+ studies in college, I had a strong interest in this book and I assumed that I would love it. However, this book was not as great as I hoped. It wasn't the worst book in the world and I learned a lot from it, but it needs a lot of revisions.
The introduction to this book started off rocky and I was worried about how the book was going to turn out. There were just some things that didn't sit right with me that I felt a queer or trans editor could've helped correct. It did get somewhat better at first. It was really informative and I was learning about important LGBTQ+ icons, but everything took a turn for the worse when Lili Elbe was mentioned. She was the first trans person mentioned in this book and she was deadnamed and was even called the gender of her birth in one sentence. It just got worse from there. Every trans person that has passed away was deadnamed in the book. I don't understand the author's motivation in including trans' people's deadnames in this book. No one needs to know a trans person's deadname. Deadnaming someone is incredibly rude and I would even say it's transphobic. I'm hoping that the author of this book just didn't understand why not to dead name trans people and that there wasn't any negative intent behind the author's word choice... A simple trans editor or proofreader could've helped correct the author so that dead names were not included in this book.
The only other thing worth noting was that this book claims to be "a celebration of LGBTQ+ icons" yet it doesn't encompass the wide range of identities in this community. As an asexual human with romantic attractions that I have yet to put a label on, I was sort of hoping for a wider range of LGBTQ+ identities to be included in this book.
I'm disappointed to say the least but if you truly want to learn about LGBTQ+ people who've changed history, this book will give you good information. Just please don't refer to trans people in the way that this book did.
The introduction to this book started off rocky and I was worried about how the book was going to turn out. There were just some things that didn't sit right with me that I felt a queer or trans editor could've helped correct. It did get somewhat better at first. It was really informative and I was learning about important LGBTQ+ icons, but everything took a turn for the worse when Lili Elbe was mentioned. She was the first trans person mentioned in this book and she was deadnamed and was even called the gender of her birth in one sentence. It just got worse from there. Every trans person that has passed away was deadnamed in the book. I don't understand the author's motivation in including trans' people's deadnames in this book. No one needs to know a trans person's deadname. Deadnaming someone is incredibly rude and I would even say it's transphobic. I'm hoping that the author of this book just didn't understand why not to dead name trans people and that there wasn't any negative intent behind the author's word choice... A simple trans editor or proofreader could've helped correct the author so that dead names were not included in this book.
The only other thing worth noting was that this book claims to be "a celebration of LGBTQ+ icons" yet it doesn't encompass the wide range of identities in this community. As an asexual human with romantic attractions that I have yet to put a label on, I was sort of hoping for a wider range of LGBTQ+ identities to be included in this book.
I'm disappointed to say the least but if you truly want to learn about LGBTQ+ people who've changed history, this book will give you good information. Just please don't refer to trans people in the way that this book did.
ab4normal's review against another edition
2.0
Michele Rosenthal’s art is beautiful but I found myself a bit disappointed reading this book as there were some elements that I didn’t like.
For example, the use of multiple trans peoples dead names I deemed unnecessary and I don’t think they should have been included. Also Madonna was included as one of the 50 Queers as she is a “Queer Icon” and while I appreciate everything Madonna has done for the LGBTQ+ community she is not in fact Queer so I feel that she maybe shouldn’t have been included in this book and the space could have been given to someone who is actually Queer.
This book could be considered transphobic and I would only recommend it as an introduction to LGBTQ+ people.
For example, the use of multiple trans peoples dead names I deemed unnecessary and I don’t think they should have been included. Also Madonna was included as one of the 50 Queers as she is a “Queer Icon” and while I appreciate everything Madonna has done for the LGBTQ+ community she is not in fact Queer so I feel that she maybe shouldn’t have been included in this book and the space could have been given to someone who is actually Queer.
This book could be considered transphobic and I would only recommend it as an introduction to LGBTQ+ people.